In the Shadow of the Tor
by Granuaile the Pirate Princess
Summary: The priestesshood of the Goddess has survived to our age... what happens when an outsider stumbles upon its secrets?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is a bit of fun naughtiness in the world of the Mists of Avalon. All the characters will be original, only the world is borrowed. hope you like!**

The first thing David noticed when he got off the train was that Glastonbury seemed to be smothered with fallen clouds. The fog was so dense in the morning chill that he could barely see a foot in front of him. He knew he was supposed to be met by someone from the school, but he suddenly doubted he would be able to spot someone in a mostly grey uniform through this mess. He decided to stop and get his bearings, and that was when he spotted her.

A petite figure sat perched on the wide stone banister of stairs leading up to the main station reading a book and looking totally absorbed by it. He took a better look at her, knowing she wouldn't notice. She wore a shortish grey and navy plaid wool skirt and a grey sweater vest over a white collared shirt and navy blue necktie, the uniform for all female students at Glastonbury College. Long, navy blue socks did nothing to conceal very shapely legs. Her long, dark hair was captured in a tight braid that hung over her shoulder, and as she looked up (and caught him staring) he saw her chocolate brown eyes framed by long, black eyelashes, a sharp contrast to her very white skin.

"Can I help you?" she questioned, annoyance hovering under her words.

David looked down quickly, embarrassed. "Um, yes. I'm David Malone, the new exchange student. I think you were sent here to meet me?"

She stood, putting her book in her bag and extending her hand. David shook it and realized that he had to look down to look her in the eyes. She couldn't have been more than five feet tall. "Ah, yes, David. My name is Fae Kimbal, I'm a first year here at Glastonbury College. I assume you had your things sent on to the school?" David simply nodded. This girl needed a few drinks. He hoped that not all English women were so stiff. She went on, a little less icily. "If you'd like, we can walk from here to the campus, and I can show you around."

David grinned. "I'm not sure how you could show me anything through this fog, but sure."

Fae returned a small smile. "The mists usually burn off by ten, and then things are fairly clear until around four, unless of course it rains….We are in England, you know."

David passed a pleasant day with Fae as she showed him around the small campus of Glastonbury College. The old school was built over the site where, as Fae told him, a druidic school had once been in England's wilder days. The smaller Isle of Glastonbury, where the ruins of the old chapel and the imposing Tor stood, was just a short (but damp) walk and a quick boat ride away. Fae was enamoured of it, even though she had lived nearby for all of her eighteen years.

David quickly discovered that Fae didn't really have friends outside of her books, and he also discovered that she lived only a few doors down from him in the one dormitory GC sported. Maybe he would have the chance to draw her out of her icy shell. As he settled in to his room, which just so happened to be all his at the moment, he thought briefly of how interesting it might be to get Fae in here. He shook the thought from his mind; he was here for an education, not to seduce local girls.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: oh, a little naughtiness in this chapter! not much, but enough to entertain, lol. Please R&R!**

At such a small college, it was inevitable that the two of them would have classes together. David took these as chances to try and crack Fae's icy exterior. He was rewarded with a few tiny smiles for a long time, but finally a crack emerged when David tried to impress Fae by scaling the outside of one of the old stone buildings. They had been walking to their philosophy class when David took off running and started scrambling up the craggy stone surface. He made it about ten feet up before his foot slipped and he went tumbling to the ground. He landed in a heap and didn't move. Fae gasped, rushing over to see if he was hurt. "David? Can you hear me? Say something, please!" She rolled him over onto his back, only to see that he was struggling not to laugh. She cuffed him. "You stupid plonker! You could've been killed!" She started to get up, but David grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down. She halfheartedly pushed against his chest. "Knock it off, its wet out here and you're going to get us….both…dirty…." Her eyes locked with his ice blue ones, and as he pulled her face down to his, she offered no resistance. Their lips met for only a moment, then Fae straightened suddenly, blushing furiously, hurrying to stand and then running off without a word.

Somehow she managed to avoid him for a full week. She was never in when he stopped by her room, she came in to classes late and left early, and when she wasn't in class, she seemed to simply disappear. He had to see her again, to talk to her and figure out what he had done that had been so wrong. He decided to stake out her dorm room door, and on the night of the full moon he was rewarded by seeing her emerge carrying a small bag at around 11.

Something told him not to stop her, and he followed her from a safe distance. She walked quickly in the direction of the Tor, and he followed her, wondering what game she was at. She stopped just before the banks of the lake to slip off her socks and shoes and set them on a nearby dry rock. David hid himself behind a tree, wondering what she would do next. As her hands moved to the buttons of her blouse, he knew he should look away, but he couldn't. The blouse came away to reveal perfectly formed breasts, a gracefully curved waist. Her skirt dropped to her ankles, showing where the beautiful curve of her body continued, her lovely naked body gleaming in the moonlight. He knew he would never be able to look at her the same way again.

She reached around for her braid and untied the end. Her hair came loose in a dark curtain to her waist, and swung forward to hide her face as she bent to cup a handful of water to her face. This done, she reached into her bag and pulled out a blue robe that looked like a prop from a medieval fair. She donned it and belted it at the waist with a length of cord. It was loose and flowing, but still gave suggestion of the sensuous body beneath.

He then watched her as she raised her arms, as if invoking some unseen power, and the mists thickened, obscuring her from view. He moved quickly to keep her in sight, and amazingly saw her continue to walk forward, although he was sure that there had been nothing but water in front of her. He followed, not daring to look down and see what he was walking on. When he finally heard her footsteps on solid ground, the mists suddenly lifted, and David found himself floundering in waist-deep water.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Finally, an update! Sorry to everyone who has been waiting on me! Avalon doesn't belong to me.**

A few girls stood on the banks, staring at him. The younger ones were giggling, the older ones looked concerned, and Fae looked at him with pure rage. She stalked down into the water and dragged him out roughly by the arm, showing more strength than a little thing like her ought to have. She dragged him in the direction of a cluster of buildings nearby. She stopped once they were away from prying eyes and glared at him, seething. "What the bloody hell were you following me for?"

David felt very much like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Well, you've been avoiding me. I wanted to apologize for whatever it was that I did that upset you so much."

Fae sighed, her face in her hands. "Well you've certainly gotten both of us into a mess now. The high priestess is going to have my head, metaphorically speaking, for bringing an outsider into Avalon, and she might just have yours for real!"

David gulped. This was a lot to process at once. One, the pretty girl he'd been chasing after seemed to be some sort of Druid priestess, two, she had somehow led him into the "mythical" land of Avalon, and three, he might just die for the privilege. "So what do we do?"

"We go to the high priestess immediately, of course. She'll know about you before long anyway."

Shortly after, David found himself kneeling in a room before a beautiful woman of about forty, listening to Fae argue his case. "He didn't mean to intrude, my lady. He was just trying to talk to me."

The older woman remained austere. "Ignorance is no excuse. Our community has survived because we avoid the notice of the outside world."

"But weren't you just saying the last time I returned that without a new priest to take down the Great Stag this year our world would cease to exist? Maybe David could be trained…"

The lady gave a laugh entirely devoid of amusement. "Fae, Beltane is less than four months away, far too little time to train a new priest in even the most mundane of tasks, let alone prepare him to face the Great Stag."

"But isn't it worth the try? If he is unprepared, he will perish and so will our way of life. If we kill him now, the same will happen, but he will have no chance for success. What if he does succeed? Our land survives for the rest of his life."

The Lady seemed to consider this for a moment. "You are right, Fae. With him alive we at least have a chance. Take him to the priests, then come back to me. We have matters to discuss."

Fae gave a little bow. "Thank you, Mother." She turned and motioned for David to follow her.

Once outside, David spoke up. "So what's going on?"

Fae still wasn't looking at him. "You are going to be trained as a Druid priest. The rest of it, the older priests will explain to you." They reached the priests' quarters and stopped. She looked up at him, a mix of emotions playing across her usually stoic face. "You won't see me again for a long time; I have a part in all this too and will be busy preparing , like you will be. This is goodbye, for a time." She turned to leave.

David put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Wait, Fae…" She turned back, looking him in the eyes. He pulled her back a little closer, and strangely enough, she didn't resist. He brushed her hair back from your face. "You'll be okay, won't you? I haven't gotten you in a huge amount of trouble?"

She smirked and answered cryptically, "Only the kind of trouble you've wanted to get me into since you came to Glastonbury." She extracted herself from his arms and walked away.


End file.
